LIFT Programs — Let's Invest for Tomorrow

An Initiative of NeighborWorks America and Wells Fargo

The LIFT programs — a collaboration among NeighborWorks America, a local NeighborWorks organization and Wells Fargo — offers homebuyer education and down payment assistance to eligible homebuyers.

Since 2012, the LIFT program has launched in 81 markets across the United States and has provided down-payment assistance to more than 25,000 borrowers, with an investment of nearly $400 million by Wells Fargo. Eligible homebuyers may apply for a mortgage with any participating lender.

How LIFT Programs Work

All LIFT homebuyers are required to take eight hours of homebuyer education classes that adhere to national industry standards. Classes are provided by local NeighborWorks organizations or their approved partners. 

Borrowers who receive NeighborWorks homebuyer education and counseling are 30% less likely to experience mortgage delinquency. 

The program also includes the NeighborhoodLIFT homeOwnership counseling grants, which provide in-person credit counseling to homebuyers at no charge with a participating HUD-approved housing counselor.

LIFT promotes financial stability among lower-income homebuyers who might otherwise have had difficulty purchasing a home. 

• 60% of LIFT homebuyers earn 80% or less of the area median income, compared with 27% of conventional buyers.
• 57% of NeighborhoodLIFT borrowers surveyed indicated it would have taken them 1-5 years to achieve homeownership without LIFT.
• 94% said owning a home has increased their overall sense of stability.

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Read Success Stories from the LIFT Programs

Check out photos of new homeowners, thanks to the LIFT programs. 
 

Small family finds stability through LIFT

Amanda Bridgewater is a nurse in Houston raising two kids on her own. Buying a home where her daughter, Bailey, and son, Aaron could have a permanent place to call home was important to her, but housing prices were out of reach. When she learned about the NeighborhoodLIFT down payment assistance program, a collaboration among NeighborWorks America, local NeighborWorks organizations and Wells Fargo, she decided to look into it. 

She was able to qualify for $15,000 in down payment assistance, which enabled her to purchase a home right away instead of waiting. She became a homeowner in August 2019. "Without LIFT, I might never have been able to buy a house," she says, "especially if I took a couple more years to save while prices kept going up."

The LIFT program requires all borrowers to complete homebuyer education, and Amanda is glad she did. "As a first-time homebuyer, learning all the terms was like learning a different language. The course explained what it all meant and what I was getting myself into. I've recommended it to a few of my coworkers." 

She promised her daughter a dog, and now they have one. Her favorite part of the house is the yard, where they love being together. The house is also energy efficient, which helps with the bills.

Amanda appreciates the stability of homeownership, as well as other benefits. "We don't have to worry about rent going up, and we have lots of room," she says. "And the house is close to work and school. We couldn't be happier."